


DANGANRONPA: Gorgeous Genocide

by P_Plum



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Original Work
Genre: All-Female Cast, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Fangan Ronpa, Gen, Murder Mystery, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Past Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 02:59:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13871649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/P_Plum/pseuds/P_Plum
Summary: The confused Hideko Yuudai finds herself stranded on a tropical island, with a hotel that pierces the sky, and a resort chock-full of fun and surprises. But when she meets the despair-inducing Monokuma and the hope-filled Kujaku, things spiral out of control much faster than expected.





	DANGANRONPA: Gorgeous Genocide

Black.

Hideko sat up groggily from her position on the unfamiliar beach, the touch of the soft, pristine white sand, and the gentle lap of ocean waves snapping her back to her senses.  _Where am I? Is anybody else here? Did I pass out?_ “Ugh, my back…” she groaned, reaching behind her torso and twisting it to the side unceremoniously.

Seagulls squawked overhead, some diving down to turn up cockle shells and pippis that were poking out of the sand. Hideko looked to her right and was met with a large yellow security camera, causing her to jump back in fright. She poked the screen, confused. That would be really creepy if somebody was monitoring her… 

She glanced around her near surroundings, her mind a haze of confusion. Heaving her heavy body to her feet, she patted down her back and legs from the irritating sand that coated them. The high-school student gasped when she discovered that she was wearing an unknown school’s uniform!

Everything was there, a tanned brown coat that was slid on uncaringly over a white dress shirt, a black-and-grey striped tie, dull, dark blue skirt and black leather shoes. She even had her glossy black hair in a neat bun – just like she did for school every morning. On the shoulder of the coat was a stylish black patch that resembled a cherry blossom and a snowflake.

Hideko stroked her chin, completely puzzled. So she was stranded on a tropical island… wearing a school uniform. This made no sense in the slightest. Breathing a sigh of disbelief, she arched her back and stretched her arms, before setting off to explore around the island. She didn’t know why she was here, or how she even got here, but it wasn’t a lost cause to examine her surroundings. Maybe she would remember where she was?

The sparkling white sand dominated the face of the beach, gentle blue waves licking at the edge of the shore. Tall, spindly palm trees dotted the area, their large leaves casually swaying in the soft, calm sea breeze. The beach arched ever so slightly upwards into a lush forest, blanketed with the noise of insects chirping and clicking. She thought she could make out a towering structure in the distance, but she wasn’t completely sure.

Edging ever closer to the face of the forest, she peered upwards. “Hey… is that… a skyscraper?”

Hideko rubbed her eyes, squinting them in the building’s general direction. Her vision hadn’t deceived her – that was definitely a giant structure of some kind – and it was most certainly man made. It pierced through the clouds, making it look like some kind of sinister lair. Hideko shrugged and brushed away the thought, and began to clear a path through the trees.

Before long, she found herself at the entrance of the building. Two massive glass doors eclipsed Hideko’s figure, casting a veil of luminescence onto her body. Shielding her eyes from the light with an arm, she thrust her frame into the door and heaved it forwards, slipping inside the building.

A sudden burst of cool air hit her like a truck; the lobby of the building was freezing compared to the humid, hot island air! She stretched her limbs, shaking down her palms, which were now an angry red from pushing the thick, heavy door. She slid off her shoes, placing them neatly to the side-

“It seems we have a visitor! Welcome, child! Don’t worry about your shoes, you may wear them inside the building!”

Hideko jumped from the sudden voice, which echoed noisily throughout the entire room. She toppled over, shuddering violently as a chubby, plush animal sprung on top of her. It resembled a puffy pink peafowl on the left side of its body; a single, polished black bead as an eye, a small white beak, and a small pink wing. The right side of its body was exactly the same, except it was completely black, apart from a sinister, glimmering red spade symbol as an eye, and a mischievous grin. Planted in the middle of its body was a plump pink navel that protruded outwards.

“What in the world…” Hideko mumbled, frozen from fear, shock and confusion. The animal’s left eye blinked as it stared straight into Hideko’s eyes. She could feel a warm breath coming from its beak, which made her leap backwards. “Are you alive!?”

“I’m as alive as ever, honey!” it beamed, smiling politely. It bowed to the girl, holding its wings in front of itself. “Welcome to the Seabreeze Hotel and Resort! Would you like to book a room?”

“Ehh…” Hideko’s breathing calmed as she brought herself to her feet, holding her head. The peafowl’s voice was surprisingly human, sounding like an adult female with a high-pitched voice. “I seriously don’t even know where I am… I don’t even know what you are.” She sniffed the air – it smelled like a hospital, almost.

“You don’t know where you are?” the creature looked down at its wings, humming quietly to itself. “You’re situated on Promise Isle in the Dismay Archipelago. This is the smallest island out of the entire chain, it’s pretty much just this resort and some beach that surrounds it…” It looked to the side, visibly upset, before bouncing back with a cheerful grin. “And my name is Kujaku, your snuggly buddy who’s 24 pounds of love! Pleased to make your acquaintance!”

Well, at least she knew where she was.

“So… why exactly am I here?” Hideko grumbled, squatting down to meet the gaze of the toy-like animal.

“Honestly, I have no idea.” Kujaku gulped, a slight stammer in its voice, its cheeks flushed red. Hideko could easily tell it was lying, but didn’t dare to interrupt – she had a distinct feeling Kujaku was stronger than it seemed. “However, 15 other people have come in here and wondered the exact same things as you. Are they familiars?”

“15 others?” Hideko was completely puzzled, but relieved she wasn’t alone. “Where… where are they? Can I go see them?”

“Wait, you haven’t even asked about your belongings or your family or anything?” Kujaku tilted its head in confusion. “You… You’re not worried?”

Hideko looked down at the tiled floor, her memory straining to find an answer for Kujaku, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember a thing. “Uh… no?”

The toy-like creature stood still, before nodding and turning around. It pointed out a wing, towards a hallway that stretched out from behind the lobby’s reception desk. 

“At the end of that hall you’ll find a staircase to your left and a set of doors to your right. Head to the right to enter the resort area, you’ll find the outdoor gymnasium almost immediately.” It nodded with a friendly smile, clapping its wings together. “All the other kids are over there waiting for the initiation briefing. Have fun meeting everybody, Miss Yuudai!”

Deciding not to ask any questions, Hideko took a deep breath and headed towards the gym. She felt a deep pounding in her heart, her palms and forehead sweating. She felt her hands shaking as she clasped the metal handle of the door, heaving it open. Hideko clenched her teeth at the harsh sunlight falling onto her, rubbing her eyes - she could make out the figures of 15 others, a faint muttering surrounding the group.

The others were gathered in a small group around an enormous empty outdoors gym, most either visibly distressed or upset, some shaking or looking to the ground with puzzled expressions. Most intriguing of all to Hideko was that they were all females – dressed in the exact same school uniform she was in. A tall, pale girl stared straight towards the schoolgirl, her gaze piercing the space between them. She tilted her head, smiling warmly, clutching her hands together and bowing in greeting.

“Salutations, Miss Yuudai!” she beamed, using a hand to swipe her chocolate-brown locks to the side. “Have you arrived from the beach too?”

“You.. know my name?” Hideko pondered, scratching her chin. How did everybody else know her name and yet she knew nothing? There were so many questions swimming around in Hideko’s mind that her head started to pound. 

“Of course! Kujaku told me all about the people that have arrived, since I was the first one to appear in this place.” She grinned, throwing her hands into the air in delight. “Welcome to Promise Isle!”

“More like Promise Ass!” two young-looking students chuckled, holding their hands to their faces. “It’s gonna be even more gross with this brand new skank!” They turned around, their arms crossed in perfect sync with each other. They looked completely identical - their long, wavy black hair spilled down their shoulders and cut off near the waist – two pink bows were attached to the back of their heads. Their school uniforms complemented them much more than the others, their skirts were shorter and they wore simple white scarves around their necks. Loose white socks covered the lower halves of their legs. They looked cute and innocent – the absolute opposite of their rude personalities.

Ignoring the duo, a girl with bright blue hair tied in pigtails hopped up to Hideko, the white dog ears on the beanie on her head bouncing up and down. “Hidekoooo! You finally made itttt!” Her loud, high-pitched voice startled Hideko – even more so than when she immediately reached out a hand, covered in a soft white glove, and shook her hand with a an immense amount of force. “Now we can finally begin the initiation briefing! Oh I’m so excited!”

Not a second after the cutesy girl squealed out in excitement, Kujaku appeared behind the group, its beak in a soft, welcoming smile. Hideko turned towards the animal, surprised at its sudden appearance.

“Welcome, everybody!” Kujaku said musically. “Welcome to the Seabreeze Resort! We hope you enjoy your stay!”

“We?” A mature-looking girl scowled. Her voice was deeper than the others and had a prominent American accent – in all aspects she was exactly like an adult, Hideko couldn’t believe she was a high school student. She wore a red set of bunny ears on a headband, her silky platinum-blonde hair reached her back. Her skin was quite tanned, with dim hazel eyes and thick eyeliner and lashes. She had thick, fluffy white cuffs around her hands and wore a red-and-black stocking on her right leg, a fishnet on her left. Her strange outfit and curvy body didn’t suit her school uniform at all. Her brow furrowed, outstretching a hand towards the plush bird. “What do you mean ‘we’? There has not been a single other person sighted on this island, and the final student has already arrived.”

“Yeah... she’s right.” Another girl whimpered in a soft voice, her dark green, baggy eyes wide and her freckle-covered face covered with her hands, her arms covered with bandages. She had messy, pastel pink hair, with a green headband adorned with daisies and camomile. Her pink floral rainboots squeaked as she shifted her weight from side to side. “Unless there is some person controlling Kujaku?”

“Of course!” roared a voice from the back of the group, a muscular girl raising a fist in the air. “Kujaku is obviously a robot! How could I have been so blind!” Her messy black ponytail shot up in the air before wrapping itself around her neck, her deep tanned skin was defined with muscle that didn’t look too menacing – but was certainly intimidating. She had quite a large chest for someone whose body type resembled a man’s; her face was also very feminine which didn’t match her voice, which was gruff and harsh, but Hideko could make out a hint of fright in it.

“No need to shout...” the pink-haired girl puffed out her cheeks, fiddling with a curl of her hair.

Kujaku groaned, tilting its head to the side. “I really don’t appreciate you calling me a robot, you know...” it blinked, freezing for a moment, before looking upwards to the group of girls and spreading its legs in a defensive position. “I swear I’m not one! I’m just a humble receptionist!” The muscular girl bended down and poked the peafowl’s cheek, her face contorting in confusion.

“This thing has a point,” she sighed, shaking her head. “it certainly doesn’t feel like one.”

_Grrrrr... Grrrrr..._

A grinding noise?

Not long after her comment, the ground started to shake violently. Hideko stumbled over, her legs twisting in an uncomfortable position. The frightened yelps of schoolgirls sounded throughout the area, followed by the familiar sound of the buff girl’s scream. Kujaku squawked with all its might, its puny wings clenching the metal door handle.

“Look in the sky!” squealed a girl Hideko didn’t recognise – she watched as the 15 other students peered up at the sky in shock and awe, before looking upwards herself. She gulped, her pupils thin slits as she gazed in fear.

_Grrrrr... Grrrrr..._

A giant glass box was rising out of the ground!

“What the actual fuck?” the muscular girl shrieked, her body frozen in place. The schoolgirls couldn’t help but look on in utter bedlam and hysteria. The walls were rising high up into the sky at an indescribable rate – they had risen to the size of a 20 storey building in under a minute! Kujaku squeaked, its body trembling not just from the tremors, but from panic and dread.

“What’s going on!? T-This can’t be happening!” hollered a strange-looking girl with green hair and a white drama mask. She started bawling her eyes out like a little girl, which suited her childlike figure. “N-Nooo! I’m traaaapped!”

The ground stopped shaking as the glass walls finally stopped ascending. Hideko couldn’t even see where they ended, they were so unbelievably tall. _What the hell just happened?_

“Oh dear... I’m definitely dreaming,” muttered the brown-haired girl Hideko had first met. She started pinching herself all over, getting increasingly more tense as she realised it wasn’t only herself experiencing the insane situation they were in. “come on... surely I am...”

“This is no dream.” Said a student with a cold stare. She was tall, pale and very skinny, with black leather boots and chains around her neck, arms, and above her footwear. Her long hair was completely white apart from a blue streak. A single dangling earring on her left ear in the shape of a moon shook with every slight movement. “We must investigate the cause of this anomaly at once. Lets all split up into even groups.” Hideko shuddered as she felt the girl’s icy blue eyes burning into her.

“Oh, no no no!” Giggled a strange, high-pitched voice. Hideko couldn’t make out where it was coming from, before she noticed most of the girls staring at a loudspeaker on the left of the hotel building. “How could you all get divided into groups when most of you don’t even know each other? Surely you can’t trust strangers, hm?”

Kujaku was quivering as if it was in the middle of a snowstorm. Something clearly wasn’t right.

She had been randomly transported to some tiny remote island in the middle of nowhere, met a living toy bird, and had been enclosed in a glass box. She felt like she was going insane, maybe she already was whack in the head. It was a believable enough explanation for her.

“Monokuma!” Kujaku peeped, covering its eyes in fear. The green-haired girl hugged the plush animal like it was a comfort toy, weeping into its tummy. Kujaku yelped, flitting its wings rapidly. “No! No! He’s arrived! I must protect the island! I must protect the students!”

“Monokuma?” Hideko said under her breath, the name was unfamiliar to her. Kujaku’s reaction certainly didn’t seem like a positive one though.

“Oh, my sweet little Kujaku,” the voice cooed teasingly. “you’re no different than that little pest Monomi! You’re alike in appearance too, you could be sisters!”

Kujaku started to cry, a little tear pooling up in its beady black eye. “I’m not like her at all! I’m... I’m not some stupid computer program! I’m not some mass of code!”

The voice started to laugh. “Puhuhuhuhuhu... Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhu! Puhuhuhuhuhuhu!”

“Don’t laugh at me!” Kujaku screamed, breaking free of the girl’s grasp. She scurried up to the loudspeaker with her shrimpy legs, and latched her body onto the metal pole it was attached to. She rocked her body back and forth, causing the loose pole to jiggle around in the hole it was set in. “Take this, you stupid bear!”

“Hey! Quit it!” the voice growled, starting to sound more menacing than cutesy. “You can’t damage my property like that, you puny drumstick!”

“I’ll do what I want!” Kujaku squawked, shaking the pole with even more fury than before. Hideko could only look on in amazement, as could the other schoolgirls.

_Smack!_

From behind the hotel building ran out a monochromatic toy bear, similar in appearance and size to Kujaku. It was a white, sweet-looking plush bear on the right side, and a scary-looking black bear on the left. Instead of a red spade as an eye, it had a strange, hypnotic shape instead, and a smile full of sharp, shiny teeth that curled up the side of its face. Like Kujaku, it had a fat round belly button that protruded out of its stomach. The creature slapped the peafowl with a hand, grumbling curse words under its breath. “You dolt! What did I say? You can’t go prancing around, breaking such expensive equipment!”

Kujaku snivelled, wiping its face with a wing. “Please don’t hit me...”

The bear shook its head, tut-tutting in disapproval. “You mess up everything! I was supposed to come in way later, but because of you I’ve had to butt in when these half-wits are still introducing each other!” It turned to the group of girls, an aura of anger surrounding the new menacing-looking animal. “You even had the audacity to slack off and not even dress them properly! Look at them!”

Hideko’s eyes narrowed as she could hear the low muttering of the unknown girls surrounding her, as well as the grunts of fury from the monochrome bear and Kujaku’s sorrowful whines and wails. “Are you Monokuma?”

The bear turned around to face Hideko, staring straight into her eyes. “Well, am I?”

Kujaku, still blubbering, latched onto the animal’s back, shivering while moaning in dismay. “Monokuma, please don’t hurt them, please, please, I shouldn’t have ever agreed to this!”

“Too bad!” Monokuma shrugged, ignoring the bird on his back. He held his hands together, rubbing them mischievously. “Well, I’ll dress them later, seeming as you’re too incompetent to do something so simple. I may as well get the initiation over and done with!”

“Nooo! M-Monokumaaa!”

“Welcome, students, to your school trip!” Monokuma waved his hands in the air joyfully, his smile wider than what Hideko thought was possible. “I am your wonderful, handsome headmaster, Monokuma! A pleasure to make your acquaintance!”

The girl with the bunny ear headband frowned, crossing her arms. “You’re our headmaster? A school trip? Would that explain why we are in school uniforms?” She dipped her head, a slight smile on her face. “I don’t even remember signing up for a trip. And a bear plushie couldn’t be the headmaster of a school.”

“And I don’t see how somebody who’s only 18 could be so cocky! Aren’t you a smart little cookie?” Monokuma chuckled, holding his hands over his mouth. “Of course I’m your headmaster! What, did you expect Kujaku to be? What a laugh!”

She tilted her head upwards, a gleam in her eye. “Well, it seems like you aren’t as stupid as you seem.”

Monokuma blushed, holding a hand behind his head. “Oh gee, no need to be so sweet, I already know I’m pretty loveable!”

“Hey bear man!” The green-haired girl from before shouted, the clips in her hair bouncing with her erratic movements. “I don’t remember even being at Hanafubuki! What’s the deal!”

“Oh, hush up!” Monokuma growled, eyeing the young-looking girl. “Let me explain what’s going on, and then we can have an FAQ session!”

“You 16 girls have been chosen for a little... experiment, you could say!” Monokuma grinned. “Welcome to your new life of mutual killing on the tropical paradise that is the Seabreeze Hotel and Resort!”

 _Mutual killing?_ Hideko’s eyes widened in surprise. What was she to make of this situation?

“You are 100% free to enjoy the activities and resources provided to you on the enchanting Promise Isle! Take a dip in the calm, clear waters, have fun in the sun with our provided beach equipment, and take advantage of all the facilities located inside the resort area!” Monokuma’s red eye gleamed in malignance, sharp, long claws protruding from his left hand. “Or you could start off the real fun with a little bit of blood...”

He held out a hand, his eyes showing no emotion. “Stabbing! Strangling! Poisoning! Pummelling! Crushing! Kill any of your classmates any way you can! It’s the only way to leave this island, after all!”

“What! No way!” yelped a blue-haired girl. “I don’t wanna kill anybody!”

“It’s your only choice, sweetie! Puhuhuhu!” Monokuma’s laugh echoed around the area, everyone else was completely silent; even Kujaku, who was completely frozen in fear, hidden behind Monokuma’s back. “It’s either kill and try to escape, or stay here on the island for the rest of your measly little lives!”

“So if someone here kills another person, they get to leave the island? No strings attached?” the muscular girl said in confusion.

“It’s not that easy.” Monokuma crossed his arms, nodding his head. “You’ll have to weasel your way out of a class trial first!”

“A class trial?” the two black-haired girls cocked their heads to the side. “Like... a trial in court?”

“Absolutely correct!” Monokuma beamed. “If you decide to kill someone, and three or more people discover the body, you’ll have a little bit of time to investigate, and then I’ll shove you all into my lovely courtroom! You’ll have to blend in with the innocents and convince everyone else that you’re not the ‘blackened’, otherwise you’ll b-”

Kujaku stepped up to Monokuma, her voice low and emotionless as she said, “The ‘blackened’ student is another name for the killer.” She nodded her head, sighing. “You’ll be executed if the other students figure out you’re the murderer and vote you as the killer. But if you’re not found out, you get to leave and live life in the normal world... and all of your classmates will be mass slaughtered.”

“What the!” the blue-haired girl peeped, holding her hands together under her head. “I don’t wanna kill... but I don’t wanna be killed!”

“If you ask me... you’d be a victim.” Giggled a creepy-looking girl with long, greasy black hair. Her eyes were covered by a cloth with a symbol of an all-seeing eye, a red gem in the pupil. “But that’s just a prediction!”

Ignoring the girls’ banter, Monokuma turned to Kujaku and gave her a pat on the back. “Good little peafowl! I’m so relieved you didn’t just turn into a depressed version of yourself like Monomi... I knew I could pull through!”

Kujaku didn’t say a word.

Hideko shivered. What had Monokuma done to Kujaku? “Hey, what happened to Kujaku just now...”

“Well, anyways, you can ask me whatever you want now!” Monokuma had completely disregarded her! “Check the pockets in your shirts, they contain a small device that I like to call... the MonoCeiver!”

Hideko shook her head, pulling out the small black-and-white device from her pocket. It was similar to a flip phone, with a keyboard of old-fashioned letter and number keys. A small round button was nestled under the screen of the phone, which was used to open the menu of the MonoCeiver. Up came a long list of options, ranging from ‘Student Profiles’, to ‘School Rules’, and at the end of the list was ‘Truth Bullets’. Hideko looked at the back of the MonoCeiver for a possible on or off button, but it seemed like there wasn’t one.

Hideko opened up the ‘School Rules’, and a long, scrolling list of text was displayed on the screen. Puzzled, she looked side to side, but it seemed like everyone else had already discovered them before her.

_Rule One: Students are not to attempt to destroy or climb the Doomsday Wall._

_Rule Two: ‘Nighttime’ begins at 10pm and ends at 7am. This is the only time you may sleep, unless you were made to sleep by another student._

_Rule Three: Sleeping anywhere other than your own or another student’s cabin will cause you to be punished accordingly. This follows the same exception as rule two._

_Rule Four: You may explore anywhere on the island you’d like, at your own discretion, with minimal restrictions._

_Rule Five: Causing harm to Monokuma or Kujaku is cause for execution, as is the destruction of any surveillance cameras._

_Rule Six: Areas that are inaccessible are not to be trespassed, and locks are not to be broken or picked without permission from Monokuma._

_Rule Seven: Monokuma and Kujaku may not directly interfere with the students’ Excursion of Mutual Killing. An exception to this is permitted if a student breaks a rule._

_Rule Eight: Additional rules may be added to this list in the future._

 

Some students looked distressed at the set of rules, some looked relieved, and some looked completely confused. Hideko remained just as clueless as she was beforehand.

“Hey, what’s the Doomsday Wall?” asked a girl with shiny brown hair in a pixie cut. She held a large white staff by her side, with an expensive-looking blue gem set in the top. “Is that the glass wall that rose out of the ground?”

Monokuma held his hands on his belly, a deceivingly friendly smile on his face. “It sure is! I installed it so you little worms couldn’t escape my Excursion of Mutual Killing! Good luck getting out of here!” He winked, before waving around his own MonoCeiver. “Make sure to memorise these rules well! Also, the student profiles will be updated when you talk to people, but I’ve already slipped some data in there you might need to strike up a conversation with your classmates!”

Kujaku stood hunched over beside the bear, her one black eye was now completely white, and her spade-shaped eye was projecting an otherworldly red glow onto the ground. Hideko winced. She was still suspicious the peafowl wasn’t as friendly as she seemed, but nonetheless had gotten slightly attached to the poor plush bird. Monokuma seemed to not be paying any mind to the other animal; was this what he meant by corruption?

Monokuma barked at the students, who were moping around, confused and distraught. “Stop wasting time, dumbasses! Introduce yourselves to each other!” He grabbed Kujaku’s back, lifting her up into his arms and carried her away into the building, pushing through the schoolgirls that blocked his way. Before long, he and his peafowl captor had disappeared into the hotel.

Hideko gulped, and meekly walked up to the girl with the white staff. The student turned around, closing her eyes and smiling warmly at the girl. “Ah, hello Hideko! How are you doing?”

It still caught Hideko off-guard that everyone knew her name, but she shook her mind free of the thought and faced the tall, strangely-dressed girl. She wore a beautiful blue pendant in the shape of a wing on her head. Her eyes were a gorgeous shade of purple, which matched her purple snow boots and light blue tights. “Who...”

“My name! Kiko Kagome!” her personality had completely changed, as she yelled at the top of her lungs; she took a step back, causing her leg bracelets to jingle, and held out her staff, shoving it into Hideko’s stomach. “I’m one to fear! I’ll defeat your dark side with my Tori Tornado!”

As Hideko jolted backwards with a pained grunt, Kiko dropped her staff on the ground with a blunt clunk, and flapped her arms wildly, squawking like a bird. She highly regretted talking to this girl, but continued to try and get to know her. “So, are you some kind of magical girl?” Hideko pondered, her comment dripping with sarcasm.

Kiko immediately stopped acting crazy, reached for her staff, and giggled to herself. “Heh, sorry about that. I was just displaying the powers of my spirit animal!” She looked to the side, holding up a hand to the sky. “The bluebird! I possess the powers of a sparrow in the spring, a swan in the summer, an albatross in the autumn, a wagtail in the winter...! I am the Ultimate Spellcaster!”

 _Ultimate Spellcaster?_ Whatever that meant, it was in the back of her mind, because Hideko couldn’t take any more of this girl. Luckily, she was saved by the interruption of another student, who was chuckling at the antics of the bird-crazy schoolgirl. “She’s quite something, isn’t she?” She laughed, her blue pigtails bobbing up and down. She wore a white beanie with a pair of dog ears on top, and had lovely chocolate-brown eyes and the faintest hint of a pink blush. Her hands were gloved, a rainbow beaded bracelet on each arm. On her legs were a pair of pastel purple and white striped stockings, and oversized white school shoes. “Pleasure to meet you. My name is Reiko Ikeda, I’m the Ultimate Patisserie.” She seemed fine, but Hideko knew she was scared of what the future held.

“Ultimate?” Hideko asked, confused. Reiko giggled nervously, holding her hands to her cheeks.

“We’re all students at Hanafubuki High, a school for girls.” She nodded, pointing to the cherry blossom and snowflake patch on Hideko’s school uniform, before continuing her spiel. “It’s well-known as one of many schools that followed the famous Hope’s Peak tradition of only inviting the best students in the country – known as ‘Ultimates’. I guess Hanafubuki was a pretty good plagiarist though, because it’s now run by the same people who own Hope’s Peak!”

“So if you’re the Ultimate Patisserie, you’re the best at making desserts?” Hideko smiled, starting to understand. She snickered to herself when she realised that Kiko must have been the best at ‘casting spells’.

“I sure am!” Reiko tittered, crossing her arms proudly. “I’ve won countless awards for my food! I’m honestly pretty happy with myself about it. Most of all, I just really like making people happy with my food! It’s the best thing about being a patisserie!”

“That’s like, reeeeally lame.” The two black-haired girls sneered. “You earned your talent from making food? That’s fine and all, but like, we earned our talent by being born!”

“I’m Yuka Tsume!” butted in the girl on the left proudly.

“And I’m Ren Tsume!” said the other. The two girls held hands together, before throwing them up in the air in joy.

“We’re the Ultimate Twins!” they exclaimed, before making cute poses. “Photos prohibited, autographs permitted! Feast your eyes while you can, suckers, cause we aren’t planning on sticking around for long!”

“Are you planning on killing somebody to escape?” the scary-looking girl with the cloth over her eyes from before interrupted. Her skin was almost white, it was so pale. She had red gems on the backs of her hands and under her neck. She had creepily long fingernails and stained white sandals. “How devious of you two. Good luck.”

“Ugh, freak girl is back.” The twins moaned, before flicking their hair and storming off into the hotel.

“I don’t think they’ll last long here.” The girl croaked, before cracking a grin that made Hideko shudder. “Greetings, Yuudai. My name is Rei Iwasaki. I’m known for my talent as the Ultimate Medium.”

“No wonder you look so creepy!” The excitable green-haired girl from earlier stuttered, holding her hands up to her mouth in fright. Her uniquely-coloured hair was tied in cute buns, and she wore white knee-high socks with petite black school shoes. Three black clips were attached to the left side of her hair, one in the shape of a heart. She had cute, all-black eyes with a button nose and red lipstick and blush. However, the left half of her face was covered in a smiling white drama mask. She was so short, she resembled a child. “Mediums are the scariest! I can’t believe they can talk to g-ghosts!”

Rei frowned, shaking her head. “They prefer the term ‘spirits’, little one. And you’d better stay on their good side, because I’m sensing they are quite on edge right now.” Rei grinned, facing the short girl. In a low, deep tone, she whispered, “If you aren’t careful, you might end up as one of them.”

Hideko chuckled nervously, sweating slightly. Rei creeped her out. “So... What’s your name?”

The green-haired girl gulped, fanning herself. She was clearly unnerved by the medium’s vague comment. “M-Midori... Midori Kitamura.” She looked to the right, pouting, barely-visible specks of tears in the corners of her eyes. “Ultimate Makeup Artist.”

Rei smiled kindly, hoping to calm the fears of the masked girl. “It’s alright, little one. The spirits seem enlightened by your presence. You seem to be quite a friendly soul.” She held her hands together in a prayer, dipping her head. “I pray that you will live a long life.”

Midori blinked away her tears, a bright smile stretching across her face. “Maybe mediums aren’t as scary as they seem...” She turned behind her, looking at the door Monokuma and Kujaku exited the scene to, rubbing her nose with a sniffle. “I’m still scared of those two... But I kinda like Kujaku...”

Rei lowered her head even more, turning to the right, her sandals rubbing on the turf of the gymnasium. “Your once kind friend may not stick around long enough to see you again.” She muttered. “I’m sorry to say, that I believe she has been forced into a new state of mind.”

Rei frowned, before turning to the door, looking behind herself to smile at Midori, who was now visibly afraid for Kujaku’s safety. “May the future be forgiving.”

Midori stared at the tall, pale girl’s back as she left the group of girls to follow behind the twins. She let out a loud huff before looking up at Hideko, tugging at her uniform. If Hideko didn’t know the girl was a high schooler, she would have assumed she was still around 10 years old, because she acted and looked remarkably similar to one. “Heyyy... I wanna follow you around...” Midori pouted, immediately twisting her body to the right, facing away from the other girl. “I’m not scared or anything.”

“Yeah.. I believe you.” Hideko objected, pushing away the flustered girl gently. “I need to meet these other girls though... sorry, Midori.”

Midori stomped her feet on the ground, her hands fists in protest. “F-Fine. I’m gonna go follow Rei. She’s way better than you anyways!” the small girl extolled, dashing off into the hotel without a second thought. Hideko blinked. _Surely not everybody was so... strange?_

Her thought was quickly proved incorrect by the next girl that passed by. A girl with short bobbed red hair, a black beret, and a painted white face with black triangles painted under her eyes walked by the black-haired girl. She wore white socks, shiny red leather shoes, and red gloves that were covering her light brown eyes. She didn’t speak at all, speed walking past the curious girl in a fuss. Behind her followed the white-and-blue haired girl from earlier, her icy blue eyes daring not to show any emotion.

“Hideko.” She nodded, pausing in place. Her face showed no feeling – like she was a living statue. Her eyes burned into Hideko’s own, as if she was furious, but she couldn’t exactly place what kind of emotion it was. She held a hand out to Hideko’s, the chain wrapped around it jingling quietly. “Tomiko Kazuo. Ultimate Oneirologist. Or, well, if you don’t understand what that means... I study dreams.”

Hideko’s eyes lit up. _What an awesome talent!_ Tomiko looked towards the girl with the beret, placing a hand under her chin pensively. “I don’t understand how _she_ is going to survive in such a situation.”

“Who’s that?” Hideko asked curiously, fascinated by the girl standing in front of her. She seemed so mysterious compared to everybody else, who she realised were quite extroverted. Maybe that was just because of the fright from the bear’s proposition?

“That’s Kazue Satoshi.” She nodded, a smile barely showing on her lips. “She’s the Ultimate Mime. Of course, you won’t be able to pry much info from her.” She tilted her head, her pupils widening. “Was Midori here earlier?”

Immediately after she asked, the small girl ran straight into Hideko’s back, her arms flailing widely. “Yuu! There’s a really scary person chasing me!”

“Midori!”

Tomiko sprung into action, sprinting behind Hideko, reaching her hands behind an unknown girl’s back and heaving her whole body to the ground. She pressed a boot into the girl’s stomach, causing the stranger to splutter from being winded. Tomiko bared her teeth, her voice more gruff than Hideko was used to. “What did you do to Midori!”

“I didn’t do anything! P-Please let go!” The girl wailed, kicking her legs into the air. Hideko noticed them as the floral rainboots from the pink-haired girl before – the terrified student threshed her arms erratically, managing to whack Tomiko in the leg a few times. However, she was thin and weak, and her attempts to break free of the cold girl’s capture were unsuccessful. “I swear! I’m just trying to escape another girl!”

Midori scurried up to Tomiko, clutching her leg. “I-It wasn’t her!” She whined, a comically large frown on her face. “It was Tatsuya!”

Tomiko’s face instantly eased up, a rush of realisation flowing through her. Hideko took an awkward, defensive stance; she didn’t know who Tatsuya was, so she was prepared for the worst. Tomiko freed the skinny girl with a grunt, spinning around on a foot to be on the lookout for the unknown threat, before holding her arms out in preparation for an attack.

The pink-haired student’s face was covered in tears and mucus – she was obviously not a threat to the group of girls. Most of the other students were already inside, apart from Kiko, Kazue, and two other girls Hideko hadn’t been introduced to yet. Tomiko dropped her pose after she realised Tatsuya wasn’t going to come outside, crossing her arms in disappointment. Midori continued to hug her leg, pressing her cheek up against it in protest.

“Tomiko, it’s okay.” The pink-haired girl said soothingly, her eyes narrowed and full of tears that streamed down her cheeks. She pet the tall, pale girl’s shoulder softly, cocking her head and smiling. “I’m sure Tatsuya stayed inside. Midori won’t be hurt.”

Tomiko shook her head in disbelief. She was certainly on edge – and Hideko could tell. “Hey, Tomiko...”

“I’m fine.” Her head hung low, a single tear pooled up in the corner of her eye. “But I’m going inside.”

The meek girl shook her head, the flowers on top rustling slightly. “I can’t stop you... but please be careful. Tatsuya is really scary...” Midori jumped up, throwing her hands into the air, obviously extremely grumpy.

“Tomiko! Don’t you dare go inside!” She cried, her green hair getting messier with each exaggerated movement. “Tatsuya will hurt you! And... Monokuma will probably gain some sort of sick pleasure from it!” The childlike girl growled, biting her fingernails. “Sadist.”

Tomiko didn’t reply, as she was already walking towards the metal doors that led to the hotel’s lobby. She pulled one open with little force, storming into the facility with an aura of anger, but her face still managed to remain completely emotionless.

Midori gulped. It was too late to convince the girl to stay outside, and she most certainly didn’t wish for a murder to happen. The air had stagnated, signalling something dreadful was about to happen. Hideko shook her head, following a few paces behind the furious, protective schoolgirl.

It was too late when Hideko arrived.

_Whack!_

“Quit it, you fucking lunatic!” The muscular girl from earlier screeched, trying desperately to snap up Tomiko’s hair. She was positioned on her back like a tortoise that had toppled over – her legs wriggling around in the air and her hands desperately trying to grab hold of the girl that was straddling on top of her.

“Don’t you ever touch another person here ever again!” Tomiko cried, slapping the busty, tanned girl square on the face. She hissed in pain, retreating her hands to grab at her face, her legs still kicking at nothing. “You pathetic fool!”

“I didn’t hurt your fucking daughter or whatever!” The opposing girl growled through clenched teeth. Tomiko began to aim a punch at her, but she gave up quickly when she realised her classmate was genuine.

“Whatever.” Tomiko stood up, brushing off her legs. “I’m not bothered to continue this.” She pushed past Hideko with a single mutter of disapproval, heading towards the stairs opposite side from the gymnasium. Her boots squeaked loudly and echoed throughout the entire hotel as she jogged upwards onto the second floor, the girls left in the lobby not daring to make a sound.

Hideko turned to the muscular girl Tomiko was fighting, and whispered to her, “What just went on?”

“She thought I hit Midori or something.” She said with a sigh, lazily resting her head on her shoulder. “She’s even stronger than I am. She certainly doesn’t look like it though.”

The girl shook her head, turning towards Hideko with a wide grin. “No worries. I understand how somebody can get when they’re protective. I’ll just have to train myself to be stronger than her!” She held a hand in the other, a keen gleam in her sharp, brown eyes. “Hey, everybody! The name is Tatsuya Daiki! The Ultimate Bodybuilder!” She winked, flexing an arm at the group of onlookers, most of them making a disgusted face.

“Filthy skank.” The twins groaned, their arms crossed tightly. “Everyone here is either insane or super edgy. We’re like, the only sane ones here.”

“You guys are just bullies.” Tatsuya shrugged, as if she had completely forgotten the fight she had just minutes before.

“Is now the time to be introducing ourselves?” The brown-haired girl beamed, holding her hands together politely. The twins scowled at her, but didn’t bother to get away from the commotion again. “Hello, my fellow classmates! My name is Yurime Shikari! I am the Ultimate Violinist!” She was the first person Hideko had met on the island – apart from Kujaku, of course. She was tall, slightly chubby, and always seemed to have a smile on her face. Her long, flowing chocolate-brown hair was tied back in a plait, which, paired with her brown eyes and full lips, made her look very elegant. Three thin red bangles dangled down on both her dainty arms.

“Hey, did you completely ignore that fight...” Reiko chuckled. “Now’s obviously not the time to b-”

“Come on, everyone!” Yurime grinned from ear-to-ear, which was quite creepy compared to everyone else, who were quite literally scared for their safety on an island they were trapped on. “It’s time to introduce ourselves!”

“He-llooo!” Sang out another girl, following in Yurime’s overly cheerful footsteps. She wore red shoes and had dull, brown eyes. Her black hair was swept to the side with a white bow on the left of her head. A clipboard was held in her left hand, with many strange symbols from different languages on it. Hideko didn’t understand much of it – other than a few English and Japanese words here and there. “My name is Laura Blackburn, and I’m the Ultimate Linguist! I travelled all the way from England to be taught in Hanafubuki!” She held her clipboard to her mouth, chewing on the metal clip slightly. “But... I’ve somehow ended up here on the island with all of you guys.”

“You deserved it.” The twins giggled, playing with the curls of their hair. “Hope you get killed first!”

“Don’t you chicks have any respect for others?” Tatsuya snarled, her eyes burning with rage. “Don’t you fucking dare say that to someone! And don’t you imply someone is gonna die, either, cause they won’t! I’m gonna protect everybody!”

“And what if Tomiko decides to murder?” Ren purred, a sinister smile spread across her face.

“Yeah, looks like you’ll die in that situation!” Yuka chirped, aloof. “Oopsie daisies!”

“You guys are assholes.” The bunny-eared girl grinned, entertained by the whole situation. “Look, there’s no need for everybody to be so on edge. Nobody is going to get killed, nobody is going to _be_ a killer, and if you really believed that toy bear was right, you’re honestly quite dull.”

Hideko frowned, holding up a hand. “But-”

“Anywho, my name is Hayami Masumi. I’m the Ultimate... Coquette.” She was visibly upset about saying the last word, but Hideko was too preoccupied trying to gain the student’s attention to notice.

“Hayami!” Reiko shouted, her beanie’s ears bobbing up and down on her head. “Shut up for a moment! The bear was serious!”

“No.” Hayami said bluntly, a condescending smile on her lips. She held her hands on her hips, chuckling quietly. “I can’t believe you idiots believe that thing.”

“You can’t ignore the fact that he was incredibly... _serious_ about the whole killing idea.” Reiko pulled out her MonoCeiver, tapping Hayami’s student profile from the list of the 16 students. “Look – Monokuma has all this information about you. Isn’t that a bit far for something that would just be some kind of sick prank?”

“Maybe he added the student profiles as inspiration for killings.” Rei murmured from the back of the group of students, a finger across her lips. “It would make sense, no?”

Hayami glowered, her face contorting into a mix of several different emotions. “I still don’t believe that we’re in a killing game.”

Hideko piped up, adding, “Monokuma surrounded an entire island with an impregnable glass wall. How can you still not believe him?” She sighed under her breath, looking forlorn at the tiled floor of the lobby. “None of us know how we got here, or why us out of all people have been selected. But Monokuma seems scarily serious about this whole situation, and for now, I don’t think we have any choice but to play along. Even if he is tricking us.”

Monokuma peered out from behind the blonde-haired girl, his hands covering his drawn-out smile. “Wow, you bunch are a whole lot smarter than the last participants!”

Hayami jumped in shock, “How the hell did you get there!?” She yipped, her hazel eyes flaming with fear and bewilderment.

“I get around.” The bear giggled, as the several girls from outside found their way into the lobby. “Anyways, it seems most of you are here, so I may as well introduce you to your spectacular, shiny hotel rooms! Follow me!”

The plush animal waddled through the hall that lead from the lobby, and clambered up the stairs, which were clearly not designed with him in mind. The girls were all lined up behind him, following him up the stairs in silence. Before long, they found themselves in another hallway that was lined with doors.

Each door had a nameplate on it, along with a pixelated image of the respective student. Hideko was lucky enough to have her room directly to the right of the stairs, and she smiled at the cute sprite of her that was printed onto the metal plate. The pink-haired girl’s room was directly across from hers – with the name Chika Maikura on her door. Monokuma held his arms together, watching the students as they were discovering their own rooms. A girl that Hideko hadn’t met yet was beside her, with her room key already in hand. The name Michi Tachibana was on her door.

“Michi?” Hideko said to the girl, smiling kindly. The student decided against looking up at Hideko, shying her gaze away from her classmate.

“Hideko.” She replied softly. She obviously wasn’t willing to talk, and she sensed that from her demure tone.

She was the only one out of the entire group of girls that was dressed in something other than a school uniform, which Hideko assumed was because she previously had access to her room. She wore a stylish mid-cut black dress with a red grid pattern at the bottom, with two crudely-sewn pockets on the sides of her waist, filled with different sizes of paintbrushes and palette knives. She sported emotionless, deadpan red eyes and black hair that reached her shoulders, two red hair clips in the shape of rectangles settled in her bangs. On her feet were plain black sneakers over grey socks. She sighed, a stoic expression on her face, before responding with a hint of animosity, “Look, I know you’re going to ask. I’m the Ultimate Painter. Now can you mind your own business and stop studying my clothes?”

Hideko nodded, now embarrassed. “Sure...” The other girl opened her room’s door, a loud click echoing throughout the hallway. She exhaled, irritated, before hurriedly shuffling into her room and locking the door behind her.

Hideko, now feeling slightly awkward, followed behind the last student she hadn’t met, who was lined up to receive her room key from the bear that had been assisting the students. It was almost like he was taking over Kujaku’s role, if Hideko was thinking straight. The girl turned around, smiling at Hideko with a warm glow.

“Hello, Hideko! Pleased to meet you!” Hideko had to admit – she looked adorable. She had black hair tied back in a ponytail, a white bow on her white headband. She had emerald-green eyes, and long white socks covered by standard black slip-on shoes. The schoolgirl winced, stepping back from the other student. “Hey, be careful! Don’t touch me!”

Hideko nodded, the unknown girl shaking her head with a susurrus growl. “Everyone here is so... _filthy._ I can’t believe Monokuma is going to try and spill blood, that’s just asking for disease to spread.” She brushed off her uniform, before staring into Hideko’s eyes. “Sorry if that seemed rude, I just can’t germs. I’m Akemi Yoshida, the Ultimate Chemist.”

Hideko immediately grinned from ear to ear as she heard the girl’s talent. “Hey, if you’re here, nobody can get hurt! You can just help the injured people!”

“I’m a _chemist_ , not a _nurse_. I can’t just perform surgery on someone on the fly... although I’m trained to do CPR and I know how to perform an autopsy...” She trailed off at the last word, fear tinging her voice. “Anyways, what’s your talent?”

Hideko drew a blank. She had been learning everyone else’s talents, yet she didn’t even think to herself that she didn’t have one. Yet she was obviously enrolled at Hanafubuki... maybe it was a side effect of the amnesia she experienced when she arrived on the island?

“I... don’t remember.”

“That’s fine!” Akemi chirped in a honeyed voice, disregarding any previous conversation. “I’m sure you’ll remember soon. Also, Hayami wanted to tell everyone to meet at the mess hall beside the gym. See you there, Hideko!” She spun around on a foot, accepted her room key from Monokuma, and made a beeline to her door. Hideko shook her head in disbelief, before looking Monokuma in the eye. He had very clearly made it obvious that he was listening into their conversation, and he laughed at the girl in front of him.

“Too bad about your unknown talent!” He said, “Maybe you’ll find it out, maybe you won’t! This school trip is going to be pretty unpredictable!”

Hideko snatched her key from the bear, gritting her teeth together. “Nobody is going to kill anyone else, I can assure you. No matter how desperate anybody is to get out of here, I can’t imagine a death occurring in this cruddy place.”

“Yeah, yeah, miss hero.” He shrugged casually, shaking his head in disapproval. “It’s going to happen whether you like it or not, so I’d prepare myself if I were you. Who knows, maybe _you’ll_ snap and end up being a murderer?”

Hideko ignored the sneering animal, heading towards her room in a sour mood. She shoved the tiny metal key in the lock, heaving the bulky door open with her arm.

The room was surprisingly spacious, and was decorated lavishly. A soft red carpet was laid on the ground, under a large bed with simplistic white-and-red covers and an especially cushy doona. To the left of the room was a wardrobe, mirror, and an empty shelf with black and white separating sections. Directly to the right of Hideko was a door labelled ‘bathroom’. A large, rectangular monitor was attached to the top of the wall to the left of Hideko’s bed, a surveillance camera identical to the one on the beach beside it. A small table filled the empty space in the middle of the room, in which a small pink note was placed. Hideko opened the tiny piece of paper, and read the contents.

_Welcome to the Seabreeze Hotel and Resort!_

_The hotel staff are exceptionally pleased that you have decided to stay here! Under your bed are some towels you can use in your complimentary bathroom, as well as some soap and hair products. Miscellaneous toiletries have been included, and if you ever run out, you may ask for free samples from Kujaku!_

_If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask! However, we cannot replace any types of electronic devices belonging to residents, and if you break anything in the bathroom, you will have to deal with the damage for the rest of your stay._

_We hope you enjoy your time! -Kujaku_

Hideko stared at the message with a puzzled expression. This note must have been written before Kujaku got taken away from Monokuma. She sat down on her bed, bouncing her weight on the mattress to see if it was how she liked it. Surprisingly, the mattress was absolutely perfect for Hideko’s liking, which made her question how much Monokuma knew about the students. She settled down under the sheets, kicked her shoes off, and rested her head gently on the pillow.

Not long after she had gotten comfortable, the monitor near Hideko’s bed blinked and the frightening image of Monokuma’s self illuminated the dark room; a half finished glass of white wine in hand, his feet resting on a table. A short ditty sounded throughout her room.

“Hello, students! It’s me, your lovely headmaster! I hope you enjoyed your first day on Promise Isle!” The ursine said cheerfully. “I regret to inform you that it is 10pm, which means it is officially _nighttime!_ The mess hall is now inaccessable and the door has been locked momentarily. Beware of any students that may be roaming the island; you never know who you can trust!

Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite!”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading the prologue! Chapter One is already under way, and I'd love to know which characters are your favourites so far!
> 
> Please vote on this Strawpoll I've created so I can get a sense of who you guys like the most! This poll will be posted in the end notes after every Daily Life and Deadly Life scene, and will be used for character interactions and Free Time!:
> 
> https://www.strawpoll.me/15224533
> 
> Thanks again for reading! Stay tuned for Chapter One - Corruption of Innocents!


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